Kia Optima ranked ahead of Honda Accord

[zach]

I still have a hard time wanting a Kia. Not sure why.

Ditto...image/perception is not there for me. They need to re-brand themselves, although, good for them!

I drive an Infinity G35. When I bought it there were several things I liked about the car, including safety and AWD. After having AWD, I don't ever see going to a 2-wheel drive vehicle again as long as I have to drive in the snow.

Z

 

[flycy]

What about the AWD Honda CRV? Can't get any more reliable than that!

Bought one one new in 04 and it was nothing but problems. Sold it after just a year and a half and bought a 02 Town & Country. It has been much more reliable and is still going strong at 140,000.

 

[dmclone]

I bought an Infiniti knowing that it probably won't be as reliable as a Honda/Acura but pretty close and worth it to add a little excitement. Pretty much all of the Japanese cars I've owned (12+) have been rock solid reliable but the 2004 Honda Accord EXL was in a different league. At 50K miles it felt more solid than most new cars. The car didn't have a rattle anywhere and the interior was perfect. My grandparents ended up buying it and every time I go so see them I ask about the Accord. The sad thing is that they are only putting about 5K miles on it a year now. I really couldn't of asked more out of a daily driver.

 

[ruxCYtable]

Bought one one new in 04 and it was nothing but problems. Sold it after just a year and a half and bought a 02 Town & Country. It has been much more reliable and is still going strong at 140,000.

You experienced the exception to the rule on both your purchases.

The CRV is generally one of the most reliable cars ever made. There was a minor blip in '02-04 when they apparently had some fuel system problems but overall the '04's reliability was still excellent.

The '02 Town & Country has had a terrible reliability record.

I'd chalk your experience up to luck.

 

[dmclone]

People bag on Honda for this as well, but honestly there are enough customizations that are available to set your car apart. The basic models arent much to look at but you can do some really sharp looking things to it to make it stand out.

I'm a big Honda fan but they have failed in my eyes. Just look at their lineup 10-15 years ago.

1999-2000 Honda Civic was the best Civic ever. I had a 2000 Civic Si and it was an excellent car. Bought it new for $16,500, drove it a year, sold it for $16,500.

Acura Interga/RSX
Acura Legend
Acura NSX
Honda Accord
Honda S2000
Honda CRX


I blame a lot of this on U.S. consumers but now everything is big and boring.

Their Hybrids have been failures compared to Toyota. The Honda CR-Z is a complete joke.

Honda Fit=One big star of the line up

SUV's/Minvans-These have been leaders in the class for a long time. They are now all outdated.

CrossTour-Gag/fail

2012 Civic-Fail compared to new Ford and Hyundai

Accord-Needs a redesign. You know it's bad when Kia starts beating you.

Acura RL-Huge failure. The TL is actually a better car for $10K less.

Acura TL-One of the design jokes in Honda's history. A good car though.

Acura TSX-A good car but doesn't do well in America where everyone asks "why wouldn't you buy an Accord?".


Remember 10 years ago when all the kids talked about Vtec and they riced out their civic's, integra's, etc. Well those people are now in their 30's and have more money but the Honda they remember is now more like Toyota. Old, reliable, and boring. A lot f the cars like the S2000 and NSX are just niche vehicles it at least shows Honda was just another Toyota. Hell 20 year old NSX's are still bringing $50K because they are just that good to look at and drive.

What is exciting about Honda in 2011?

There is my rant for the day.

 

[jbindm]

We just purchased a Subaru Legacy for that very reason. Good gas mileage, great safety ratings and all wheel drive. The Accord and Sonata are really good cars, but AWD sealed the deal for us.

Subaru does make great cars, but if you're 6'6 or taller, forget it. There isn't nearly enough head room or leg room in any of their models. Believe me; I tried all of them.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Subaru does make great cars, but if you're 6'6 or taller, forget it. There isn't nearly enough head room or leg room in any of their models. Believe me; I tried all of them.

That might eliminate Subarus from my consideration as well. I might only be 6'2", perhaps 6'3", but I find it almost impossible to drive all compact cars (knees dig into virtually every single compact car dash board, which interferes with my operating of the pedals), and even in some midsized cars I feel like hitting some bump the wrong way is going to cause my head to crash through the roof.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Subarus also have major issues fitting carseats into the back. That's what kept us from buying a Subaru (Forrester maybe?) about 5 years ago. We ended up getting a CRV, then within 3 years had to trade that for a minivan when kids 2 and 3 (not twins...) came along.

I know several others who have had to trade their Subies once they had kids because a car seat wouldn't fit properly in the back.

 

[Mr Janny]

Subaru does make great cars, but if you're 6'6 or taller, forget it. There isn't nearly enough head room or leg room in any of their models. Believe me; I tried all of them.

What year models did you try? I know that the Legacy has gone through a redesign in recent years that increased space. Cabin room was one of the reasons we chose it. There is plenty of head and leg room up front. And the back seat is giant for a midsize sedan. The whole cabin is bigger than our Escape's.

 

[Mr Janny]

Subarus also have major issues fitting carseats into the back. That's what kept us from buying a Subaru (Forrester maybe?) about 5 years ago. We ended up getting a CRV, then within 3 years had to trade that for a minivan when kids 2 and 3 (not twins...) came along.

I know several others who have had to trade their Subies once they had kids because a car seat wouldn't fit properly in the back.

I don't want to come off as the defender of all things Subaru, here, but I literally just installed our Brytax, rear facing giant, friggin carseat in ours, yesterday, and it fits great. Passenger seat can go back all the way without hitting it. Plenty of room. The Impreza still has a pretty small backseat, I think and I can't speak for the Forrester.

 

[dmclone]

I've always like the subura's for their engines and AWD but their interiors have been kind of blah. I'll have to check out the new ones.

 

[drmwevr08]

I have been curious to check out the new Optima, although the likelyhood of buying anything has stopped me. My 02 accord is plugging along very well thankfully. It is at 119k, which is just a hair past where I've had any of my previous cars. The difference is that I've not had to fix anything on this one, the rest were all american unfortunately. I'll probably have to keep this one a number of years so I'm hoping the trend continues. I have also loved my Toyota Sienna although it isn't as old. I'm hoping it lasts a good long time too. This is not an economy i want more car payment in.

 

[brianhos]

by Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports: Kia Sedan Tops Honda Accord - Yahoo! Autos

I would never consider purchasing either vehicle since I want a reliable all wheel drive vehicle. Nevertheless the ranking is interesting.

You can get an AWD accord, it is available in the crosstour.

 

[Mr Janny]

You can get an AWD accord, it is available in the crosstour.

bumps up the price quite a bit. $34,000 minimum for the 4X4 model. That kind of puts it in a different category than the rest of the cars on that list, Optima, Camry, Legacy, Altima, Sonata, etc, all of which can be loaded with options, and still come in well under $30,000.

 

[alaskaguy]

You can get an AWD accord, it is available in the crosstour.

I purchased a Subaru for several reasons; there is a local Subaru dealer (the nearest Honda and Toyota dealers are a two hour drive), Subaru's have the best resale value, and even when you get a AWD Accord it is not practical for driving in the snow due to a low clearance.

 

[dmclone]

Pretty embarrassing that I'm saying this since I own 2 AWD vehicles but I think AWD is overkill for a large percentage of the population. If you have FWD and decent all season tires you should be able to get through about anything. Of course there are exceptions where you have to go through DEEP snow.

I had 18" sport tires on a Mazda and it was terrible in the winter. I put on good snow tires and it was as good as any awd vehicle I drove.

Now if you're talking about a rwd car than I agree.

 

[Mr Janny]

Pretty embarrassing that I'm saying this since I own 2 AWD vehicles but I think AWD is overkill for a large percentage of the population. If you have FWD and decent all season tires you should be able to get through about anything. Of course there are exceptions where you have to go through DEEP snow.

I had 18" sport tires on a Mazda and it was terrible in the winter. I put on good snow tires and it was as good as any awd vehicle I drove.

Now if you're talking about a rwd car than I agree.

Very true. I've had FWD cars that were very nimble on frozen roads, and I've got a friend with an AWD Beamer that is absolutely awful in the winter. He hates it. AWD isn't necessarily the end all/be all when it comes to winter driving.

 

[jbindm]

What year models did you try? I know that the Legacy has gone through a redesign in recent years that increased space. Cabin room was one of the reasons we chose it. There is plenty of head and leg room up front. And the back seat is giant for a midsize sedan. The whole cabin is bigger than our Escape's.

I tried out the showroom models last summer, so everything was either the newest edition or the previous year's. It's not really a knock on Subaru. It's a lot like shopping for clothes. There just isn't much out there that fits right for tall people. I have heard the the mini Coopers are surprisingly roomy, but I haven't worked up the courage to test drive one yet...thinking I might look a little ridiculous getting in and out of one.

 

[Colorado]

Kia/Honda/Toyota/Hyundai all fall into the same category for me - when I look at them, it's all just meh. I keep my cars for a long time. I want to look at my car and at least be able to enjoy looking at it. All those other brands just look like each other.

That being said, I live in CO so I had to buy a Subaru. They won't let you buy anything else here.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Kia/Honda/Toyota/Hyundai all fall into the same category for me - when I look at them, it's all just meh. I keep my cars for a long time. I want to look at my car and at least be able to enjoy looking at it. All those other brands just look like each other.

That being said, I live in CO so I had to buy a Subaru. They won't let you buy anything else here.

That's right, because according to Cartman, Colorado has "a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOT of hippies..."